The Human Studies Core has been a component of the Diabetes Research Center since 1974, reflecting the historically strong focus ofthe University of Washington on clinical research. The Core's mission is to provide affiliate investigators with multiple resources to support the conduct of human research. To achieve this mission, the Human Studies Core has the following goals: (1) Perform metabolic phenotyping studies consisting of clamps with isotopic tracers to determine site-specific rates of glucose kinetics, hyperglycemic clamps to assess beta-cell function, and oral and intravenous glucose tolerance tests; (2) Obtain blood samples and adipose tissue from identified subjects; (3) Model data from mixed meal, intravenous and oral glucose tolerance tests to estimate parameters of interest pertaining to beta-cell function, insulin sensitivity and glucose disposal; (4) Utilize existing state-of-the-art electronic medical record and other clinical resources to identify potential subjects for clinical and epidemiological research in diabetes, obesity and related disorders; and (5) Assist with and train in the design and conduct of clinical research including statistical analysis. Many of the services offered by the Human Studies Core are unique in the local research community and, if not for the existence of the Diabetes Research Center, would be unavailable to investigators. By leveraging with other groups, the Center offers services to its affiliates that complement those available through the UW Nutrition Obesity Research Center, the Institute of Translational Health Sciences (the CTSA), the Group Health Research Institute, the VA Epidemiologic Research and Information Center, and the Washington Phenotyped Biospecimen Resource. In this manner, the Human Studies Core supports the conduct of human research in diabetes, obesity and related conditions.